The performance of many applications performed by a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone, tablet device, wearable device) are dependent on the position and orientation of the mobile device relative to a user, a surface or a station delivering a signal or data to the mobile device. Some examples of applications where the spatial orientation of a mobile device can improve performance, include but are not limited to: improved power transfer efficiency during wireless charging of the mobile device, improved loudspeaker and microphone performance in noisy environments and improved cellular or wireless network connectivity. For example, when a mobile device is lying on a surface (e.g., lying on a table) or mounted in a docking station, the user may have to manually position or rotate the device to improve reception of wireless signals from a cellular transmitter or network access point (e.g., a wireless router). To do this, they can look at the wireless signal strength indicator on their device (e.g., signal bars) while they manipulate their mobile device. In some situations, however, the user may not be aware that their device can be physically manipulated to improve performance of a particular application. For example, in a wireless charging application, the user may not realize that the spatial orientation of the device on a charging mat can increase the power transfer efficiency.
Even if the user is aware of a particular performance improvement, the device itself may be incapable of providing visual or audio feedback to guide the user to manually adjust the position and orientation of the device to improve performance. In cases where the mobile device is lying on a surface or otherwise off the body of the user, it is desirable for the mobile device to automatically adjust its position and/or orientation on the surface to improve performance of a particular application without assistance by the user.